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Date Published: 22/11/2021

ARCHIVED - Maritime speed limits proposed to protect whales and dolphins in Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The ‘Silent Waters’ report aims to reduce the number of collisions between these large mammals and boats in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Maritime speed limits proposed to protect whales and dolphins in Spain

Environmentalists in Spain have asked the government to limit the maximum speed of boats travelling through the Mediterranean Cetacean Migration Corridor (CMC) in order to protect the dolphin and whale populations. This 43,386 stretch of water, between the coasts of the Balearic Islands, Valencian Community and Catalonia was declared a Special Protection Area of Mediterranean Importance (ZEPIM) back in 2019 as the corridor is home to several species of whales, dolphins, porpoises and sea turtles.

The proposal, known as ‘Silent Waters’ (‘Aguas silenciosas’), was presented by OceanCare in Palma de Mallorca last week and the group insists that the measure of limiting ships and pleasure boats to 10 knots would “drastically” reduce the risk of fatal collisions with these aquatic mammals, in addition to cutting down on noise pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.

The restriction would particularly safeguard whales and dolphins migrating between the ports of the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia and Dénia.

According to the report, a large percentage of ships navigate this area at very high speeds, and last month ecologists were forced to launch an investigation into the huge increase in incidents between boats and killer whales, which have skyrocketed in the last two years.

The study has concluded that reducing the speed of ships by 10% would reduce fuel consumption by 19% and lethal collisions of ships with cetaceans by up to 50%. Likewise, noise generated by the crafts would fall by around 40%.

OceanCare spokesperson Nicolas Entrup pointed out that Spain could be a pioneer worldwide in the protection of cetaceans against the problem of underwater noise, and has argued that if there are speed limits on roads for safety and pollution, marine life and environmental standards should also be regulated.

If approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), this stretch of Spanish waters would be declared a Specially Sensitive Maritime Zone.

Image: OceanCare

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